Tuesday 30 September 2008
What a lovely surprise
Thank you, Annmarie - much appreciated.
CBC ATCs: transport/travel
On the first one I've used a bicycle that I bought ages ago and have never found a use for it - the main problem was how to stick it on, so I resorted to ribbon to hold it. The background paper is BG cupcake:
I'm not sure what these papers are - I've had a set of them for a long while, but can't remember what they are - if anyone knows, I'd be interested:
Monday 29 September 2008
BF forum CJ
Chris asked us to show what we love or hate about the seasons. 'Show me your favourite seasonal photographs. Concentrate on just one or two or do all four, I really don't mind.'
For the left hand page I've used photos taken in our garden at various times of the year for the four seasons, but on the right hand page I've concentrated on the summer, particularly being by the sea.
Amazingly, this is something that I've got done before the deadline!
Sunday 28 September 2008
Blog candy winner
It's time for some Blog Candy
I am fast approaching 20,000 hits since I installed sitemeter and to celebrate I'm offering some blog candy. In fact, I have now just gone over the 20,000 (on the morning of 19 September) - how on earth did that happen?!?!
Please feel free to tell others about this.
All you need to do to be in with a chance to win this is to leave a comment on this thread and please put a link on your blog to direct people here.
I want to say a big 'thank you' to everyone who has visited my blog and left comments in the past and to welcome anyone who is visiting for the first time. If you leave me a comment, then I'll come and have a look at your blog.
Sometime on Sunday evening, 28 September, I'll get John to draw a name out of the hat (well, it might not actually be a hat, but you get the idea!)
Oh, I nearly forgot - here is what you can win (and I might well add a few more bits and pieces):
Saturday 27 September 2008
A good day
Now today's over, I must make a list of other crafty things that need to be done, not forgetting the draw for the blog candy tomorrow - I'll get John to pick a winner tomorrow evening.
Friday 26 September 2008
DCM: king (or queen) for a day
I don't know why, but the scan has chopped one side a bit - the actual cards have a proper symmetrical pattern.
Boxes of notelets
Calendars
Thursday 25 September 2008
More Christmas cards for Saturday
I've made 85 of the following cards, to be sold in packs of 5. These are very simple, using strips cut from PM 'a wonderful Christmas time' papers. The silver and gold foiled vellums are some that I bought in bigger sheets ages ago from Lakeland and have never before found a way of using. I ran them all through my Xyron so that I didn't have to bother with brads.
I've managed to put all the inserts in, so all I need to do now is to bag and label them.
Clicking on pictures to see them bigger
I've sorted it at last!! So now you can click on a picture and see it enlarged (only from now on, because I'm not going to backtrack!)
Salt: Pray continually
'
As a busy mum it is easy to get through the day and have not bended my knee in prayer to the Lord. Throwing up prayers whilst washing up or walking to school sometimes has to be my lifeline and one aspect of praying continually.
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:16-18However I think this verse implies more, that we are not to give up praying. It's not a one off act, it should be part of every day of the rest of our lives.
Please make a project that might help you to pray or be a response to meditating on this theme.'
A couple of days ago I went over to see mum and on the way back popped into a local-ish shop to get a few craft bits (nothing wonderful, because they don't sell 'wonderful' - lol! - and I noticed at the till there were some of those little tab calendars for next year, so I bought some, thinking that if I have time (lol!) I'll make some calendars to try and sell on Saturday.
And then the thought emerged that I could do a calendar for the Salt theme - 'pray continually' is a good reminder on a calendar. Hopefully some people from church will come along on Saturday, so I'm thinking that I'll try and make a few more like this, but I'm keeping this one for myself.
Thanks for a great challenge, Ruth - and, of course, for the challenge that it is to me in my own personal prayerlife, which sadly can get squeezed out so easily, although I do find myself reflecting prayerfully in ordinary, every day circumstances, like when our walking or crafting.
The photo is one I found on the internet. The paper is from PDA and is mounted on chipboard, finished off on the back with a toning piece of card, with the addition of a ribbon to hang it and the calendar.
Please take a look at Salt and join in the challenge
Tuesday 23 September 2008
Play games and feed the world
Simon (one of our church's ministers) also mentioned it on his blog, so I just had to have a look to see what it's about and I managed to clock up a total of 6,000 grains of rice - I don't suppose that's very much in weight, but, hey, every little helps.
Why not pop over there and donate some rice?
More cards for Saturday
Monday 22 September 2008
Getting ready for Saturday
I spent this morning making some Christmas cards from recycled cards. I'm very conscious that people can buy boxes of Christmas cards cheaply these days and so I try to make some for the TEAR Fund sale that are less expensive. I use good quality card and mounts and put inserts in them all, so that they are not 'cheap' cards, but more affordable than ones made from scratch. Perhaps I'll show some tomorrow - I've made about 80 of those so far.
Sunday 21 September 2008
Helpful blogger award
Claire has kindly given me this award. She said:
'I've designed this award which I will pass to bloggers who I think have helped me recently by inspiring me or actually helping me with my craft.
Today I'm going to award this to Maddy for her fabulous PG Tips challenge which I loved and has inspired me to tart more and Hazel for helping me make a concertina card.'
I am so taken aback - it was a pleasure to be able to share what I'd done.
I value the help of other bloggers and forum members and would like to pass this award on to Joanne, such a talented crafter who is always ready to share her expertise both on her blogs and within crafting forums - she so well deserves this.
Please do also have a browse on Claire and Maddy's blogs - very inspirational.
Saturday 20 September 2008
DCM: all mixed up again!
I've tried to redeem myself a bit by making a card that is a bit more mixed up than the first one. This time I chose lilac/purple, with ribbons and a bow added (not normally seen on a man's card) - think I'll give up on this one now! At least it was a chance to play with another of my Cuttlebug embossing borders (and the ribbons hide the lines left from the embossing).
HS:MS SPS
Friday 19 September 2008
DCM: all mixed up
'This week's theme is All Mixed Up.
How come the majority of girls' cards are pink and flowery and the boys are blue and have absolutely no flowers at all?
What about cars for girls??? hmmm?
This week Tracie wants you to mix up those genders and create cards with a little bit of something not normally found for that sex.'
I don't think I've really mixed up enough, because I realise now that I used a predominantly blue colour scheme, which is usually stereotyped for a man's card, but I thought the addition of the cuttlebug embossing border with the flowers, inked with blue iris chalk pad, mixed it up a bit - mmm, I'm not convinced, but it was another excuse to play with a new embossing folder.
I'll try and do another card for this dare - perhaps a pink card for a man - got an idea for one.
JB September challenge 1: K.I.S.S.
Well, here's a simple little mid-week challenge for you - make a card, any occasion, using 1 piece of patterned paper, 1 embellishment, and 1 sentiment.
K.I.S.S.!!'
I thought while I'd got the K & Co pads out I'd use a piece of Roam for the background. The sentiment and embellishment bits are Branda Pinnick, I think.
Thanks for a good challenge, Nicky. I think I need to make a few more of these.
JB September challenge 2: 15 minute template
We are all pushed for time so this challenge you only have 15 minutes to produce a quick card for any occassion based on this very simple template.'
Spurred on by what Bex had done, I got out a pad of K & Co amy butler papers that I've had for ages and never used and used one for the background of my card. I used bits from two others from this pad and also a picture from a BF kit from Dream Street papers Hugs n Kisses - postmark. The turquoise strip was embossed with one of my new cuttlebug border folders that arrived this morning - a good opportunity to use it straight away:
Thanks for this challenge, Bex - that's another one in the box ready for next Saturday.
And I just about got it done in the 15 minutes.
Ruby Anniversary card: CBC 14 September challenge
Thanks to Rachel, I now know that the challenge was set on CBC by Tracy:
' want you to make a card or LO or whatever you like, just as long as it includes a number on it'
BF Think Pink challenge 12:decorate a gift box or bag
'There are alot of people who simply hate wrapping presents so I thought it would be nice if we had some decorated boxes or gift bags to sell.
So you challenge this week is to Decorate a Gift Box or Bag in any theme you choose.
You can either use a plain gift bag and jazz it up or maybe even make your own.'
Well, I haven't actually decorated a box or a bag, but I've tarted up a tin which could be used to put a present in, or just to keep bits and bobs.
I started off with a tin that I got free with some Boots expert toiletries a while back (I've been wondering what to do with it, but was put off by the writing on the top):
I used alcohol inks (a mixture of stream and red pepper - the nearest I had to pink) on the lid:
and covered the inside with a piece of card (because the lettering was embossed all the way through):
I stuck a band of paper around the tin:
and then added a piece of ribbon around the paper (used Scotch vellum tape so that there was no adhesive showing), a piece of sticky gingham ribbon around the lip of the lid and blooms and big brads stuck on the lid to hide the embossed words:
Most of what was used was from a BF kit - some from the July kit and some from a TP one.
HS:MS enjoy
The first photo is a cheat - I didn't take it - and it was taken quite some time ago (you can tell that because I'm much slimmer!) - mum and I having enjoyed a share dessert:
The next one I did take, but a while ago while on holiday abroad. This is to show that you can ejoy a cuppa anywhere at any time:
Thursday 18 September 2008
Big Ben
If you want to see a much, much better picture of Big Ben, then go to HS:MS and see Anita's fab photo.
Meanwhile, here's mine:
HS:MS big
My first thought for this was 'big toe', my second thought was 'I'm not showing mine', but I found a willing victim:
I've amended this post to exclude the other picture because of a comment made. I realise that by doing this, anyone now looking will probably think it was much worse than it was - just a picture of John's foot with a block where the second toe was. It's a pity that the person who made the comment chose to remain anonymous.
Wednesday 17 September 2008
BF Think Pink challenge 7: tartography
I'd almost forgotten how to use my BIA!
The backgrounds of these notebooks are miscellaneous papers that were in my box (I think they were free with magazines). The backs are covered in the same papers and the insides have been covered with coordinating papers.
One for a lady:
One for a man:
Now I need to make some more for the TEAR Fund sale - I've already done a couple more, but not decorated them yet.
Nessy's blog candy
Nessy said: 'so , to enter for my blog candy, all you need to do is :~ when you have created your girly card/or anything creative with some glitter on it (you know how i love my glitter) from now until the 28th of september, just leave a link to it on my blog and a link on your blog to mine telling everyone about my candy!! there is no need to make a card just for a chance to win some candy ~ just include any card you have made and you are showing on your blog!!'
So here is a birthday card and a Christmas card from me:
Quick way to make concertina zigzag cards
I actually bought the ones that have a gingham pattern on them, but I made the four in the top picture.
Step 1: Take an A4 sheet and fold in four landscape:
Step 2: Fold the sheet as shown (if you want a longer bit on the first fold, just adjust the angle of the fold - this will just produce shorter cards:
Step 3: Cut along the crease:
Step 4: Fold each piece to make 2 concertina zigzag cards:
Step 5: Decorate however you wish. You can either then leave the card so that it fully opens, or stick down the zigzag bits so that it's just a simple opening card. I sometimes stick down the edges, that then leaves a pocket to take a tag.